Madeline was the first book we “rowed” with Five In A Row. My daughter was not quite 4 1/2. She has been Madeline-obsessed ever since, lining up 12 of anything in two straight lines, making “Flat Madelines” and wanting any and all Madeline books read to her over and over again. So naturally, she wanted to have a Madeline party for her 5th birthday.

As it turns out, they don’t make a lot of Madeline party favors so we rubber-stamped Eiffel Tower’s on lots of things and I made bookmarks with Madeline quotes on them. We used yellow and blue, the colors of Madeline’s most famous outfit, for our plates, napkins and cake.

And we found a few new Madeline things to share for those who might be rowing the book or those who have a Madeline fan in their house.

Here is a Madeline fan club and website with information about the author, Ludwig Bemelmans. You can sign up for the fan club and Madeline will email birthday greetings to your child and list him/her on their website on the day of their birthday. For example, “The Queen Bee, Anytown, VA, turns 5 today!”

“Flat Madelines” are Creatology brand paper shapes.

I found them at a Michael’s craft store.

We added the hats, some with real ribbon, and buttons for Madeline’s coat.

We did FIAR and this post brings back memories – I loved using this when my oldest was 4. We really enjoyed that year, and I still love and read many of the books to my girls (oldest is now almost 11!!).